SPONSORS  FOR  KNOWLEDGE* 


BY  G.  W.  LEEt 


People  are  busy,  and  they  are  impatient  of  the  recurring 
questions  whose  answers  they  feel  ought  to  have  been  estab- 


rT 


lished.  “Which  is  the  best  picnic  ground  within  a five-cent  ride 


of  the  city?”  asks  the  settlement  worker.  “Where  can  we 
camp  for  the  summer  with  a hotel  nearby  for  our  meals?”  asks 
the  fresh-air  seeker.  “Which  is  the  best  gas  stove?”  asks  the 
householder.  “Where  shall  we  send  our  boy  to  college?”  ask 
the  parents.  “Are  these  genuine  mark-downs?”  asks  the 
shopper.  “Does  this  subscription  set  altogether  supersede  my 
present  one?”  asks  the  prospective  book-buyer.  “How  does 
the  three-cent  fare  work  in  Cleveland?”  asks  the  street  railway 
man.  “Does  it  pay  to  employ  an  efficiency  expert?”  asks  the 
manufacturer. 

Such  everyday  questions  by  everyday  people  present  many 
a vexing  problem.  They  are  often  too  easily  answered,  or  else 
considered  unanswerable.  They  are  typical  of  what  ought  to 
be  answered  far  more  satisfactorily  than  is  usually  the  case; 
and,  for  my  part,  I believe  the  time  is  at  hand  when  a system- 
atic method  of  getting,  through  specialists,  answers  on  topics 
of  every  description  should  be  in  operation.  Would  not  the 
questioner  hail  such  a system  with  delight?  Would  not  the 
settlement  worker  like  a better  suggestion  for  a picnic  ground 
than  the  well-known  suburban  park  ? and  the  fresh-air  seeker 
a better  reference  source  than  a vacation  railway  folder?  and 
the  householder  more  of  a guaranty  than  the  assertion  of  a 
neighbor  that  the  ABC  gas  stove  is  a delight?  Would  not  the 
parents  like  something  less  bewildering  than  a dozen  different 
suggestions  from  a dozen  advisers  as  to  the  best  college?  and 
the  shopper  something  more  direct  than  that  the  mark-downs  of 
another  store  are  always  genuine?  and  the  book  buyer  some- 
thing more  convincing  than  the  agent’s  pointing  to  a few  pas- 
sages in  the  new  work  that  supersede  the  old?  Would  not  the 
street  railway  man  like  to  escape  contradictions  as  to  the  three- 
cent  experiment — a “grand  success,”  according  to  some  “a 
grand  failure,”  according  to  as  many  others?  And  would  not  the 
manufacturer  like  to  know  for  a certainty  who  is  the  doctor  of 
all  business  doctors? 

Many  questions  like  these  are  usually  answered  in  an  off- 


*Reprinted  from  Stone  & Webster  Public  Service  Journal  for  July,  1914. 
tLibrarian,  Stone  & Webster,  Boston,  Mass. 


48 


STONE  & WEBSTER 


hand,  inaccurate  way,  in  which  the  phrase  “I  guess”  is  too  apt 
to  be  conclusive.  The  situation  is  unsatisfactory.  We  need 
to  progress,  we  need  to  be  scientific,  and  I cite  the  two  follow- 
ing instances  that  suggest  an  obvious  way  to  a better  means  of 
getting  at  facts: 

A man  whom  I know  likes  to  put  such  a gentle  question 
as  this:  “Have  you  perchance  any  references  on  the  venti- 
lation of  schoolhouses?”  His  very  manner  instigates  a keen 
desire  to  produce  a fine  answer.  His  question  seems  easy,  and 
you  go  to  likely  indexes  and  you  write  to  likely  specialists ; and 
when  you  have  spent  as  much  time  as  you  feel  the  circumstances 
warrant,  you  are  disappointed  not  to  have  a long  list  of  refer- 
ences to  give  him.  You  have,  perhaps,  a dozen.  He  thanks 
you  cordially  for  these,  and  then  gives  you  some  consolation  by 
saying  that  you  have  found  about  everything  there  is  (of  any 
consequence),  adding  that  the  big  favor  you  have  done  is  to 
make  him  surer  than  ever  that  he  already  had  substantially  all 
the  light  available  to  date  upon  the  subject.  If  you  feel  in- 
terested to  inquire  how  he  knew  the  situation  so  well,  he  reveals 
to  you  that  he  is  past  president  of  a society  which  has  specialized 
on  the  ventilation  of  schoolhouses;  and  to  finish  the  episode 
he  hands  you  a pamphlet  written  by  himself,  which  you  subse- 
quently learn  is  a little  more  advanced  in  facts  worth  while  than 
anything  your  library  and  correspondence  research  had  pro- 
duced. 

There  is  another  man  I know  who  asks  a question  like  this : 
“Have  you  made  any  compilation  of  the  powers  and  scope  of 
public  service  commissions?”  I reply  that  I have  started  such 
compilation,  as  have  plenty  of  others,  but  have  yet  to  see  it  in 
complete  and  handy  form.  I tell  him  I hope  he  will  do  it  in  the 
way  it  ought  to  be  done,  and  that  thereafter  some  organization 
whose  aim  is  professedly  to  do  such  things,  will  continue  the 
good  work  by  maintaining  it  always  to  date.  He  seems  ready 
to  put  it  through,  as  he  needs  the  information  for  an  address 
he  is  soon  to  make.  As  we  are  thus  conversing  up  steps  a 
representative  of  a department  of  the  Government,  and  im- 
mediately I say  to  this  representative  that  his  is  the  very  de- 
partment which  most  fittingly  could  make  the  compilation  in 
question.  And  I leave  them  talking  together,  hoping  that  they 
agree  with  me.  Whether  or  no,  the  man  with  the  latest  word 
on  ventilation  and' the  man  collecting  and  collating  the  facts 
about  public  service  commissions,  are  by  their  very  nature  what 


PUBLIC  SERVICE  JOURNAL 


49 


I should  term  “sponsors  for  knowledge.”  A sponsor  (according 
to  Webster)  is  “one  who  binds  himself  to  answer  for  another’s 
default and  these  two  men  are  of  the  sort  that  become  morally 
bound  to  make  good  many  an  undertaking  which  has  been 
slighted  by  another. 

Who  is  there  that  would  bind  himself  to  give  satisfaction, 
when  other  sources  fail,  as  to  picnic  grounds,  or  summer  camps, 
or  gas  stoves,  or  colleges,  or  mark-downs,  or  subscription  books, 
or  three-cent  fares,  or  efficiency  experts — not  by  an  oath,  but 
by  a gentleman’s  agreement  ? It  might  be  difficult  to  find  men 
who  both  would  and  to  advantage  could  fill  these  positions. 
Doubtless  such  a sponsorship  system  must  evolve  from  modest 
beginnings.  Evolution  does  not  proceed  by  turning  out  finished 
products;  rather,  by  tendencies  towards  what  is  needed,  with 
here  and  there  abrupt  variations  (so  called)  that  are  more  fitting 
than  what  has  prevailed.  Should  we  organize  an  information 
system  with  the  man  who  is  in  the  forefront  on  schoolhouse 
ventilation  and  with  that  other  man  who  is  preparing  to  make 
a study  of  public  service  commissions;' — should  we  organize 
with  these  two  individuals  responsible  for  just  two  topics  (out 
of  a possible  million)  — we  should  have  the  nucleus  of  what 
people  are  unwittingly  after.  And  once  such  a nucleus,  the 
growth  of  the  system  would  be  a matter  of  business  management. 

Publicity  concerning  a few  sponsors  for  interesting  and 
important  topics  would  bring  to  light  many  a candidate  and 
many  a specialty;  and  when  the  public  realized  there  was  an 
organized  “where-to-look”  on  questions  hitherto  vaguely  dis- 
posed of,  it  would  turn  to  the  same  organization  for  much  else. 
The  upbuilding  would  be  largely  that  of  supply  answering  de- 
mand. Many  a local  undertaking  would  become  the  cog  of  a 
national  wheel ; we  should  have  union  lists  of  periodicals  hence- 
forth compiled  on  a national  scale;  overlapping  indexes  and 
bibliographical  work  henceforth  arranged  for  so  as  to  avoid 
duplication;  book  reviewing  and  evaluating  done  by  experts 
in  every  department;  rare  books  located  in  a central  index  for 
the  country  over;  we  should  have  a listing  at  headquarters, 
with  quite  likely  a correspondence  auction  (such  as  is  already 
conducted  monthly  on  a small  scale  in  Boston),  of  over-supplies 
and  locally-not-needed  literature,  thus  affording  an  efficient 
clearance  system  of  what  people  have  to  dispose  of  and  what 
they  wish  to  obtain;  and  incidentally  there  would  be  a stand- 
ardizing of  forms  and  sizes  in  stationery  and  print. 


50 


STONE  & WEBSTER 


“What  are  the  signs  that  make  you  think  that  these  things 
are  soon  coming  to  pass?”  it  may  well  be  asked.  Part  of  my 
justification  I find  printed  in  the  advance  papers  of  the  library 
convention  that  took  place  in  Washington  the  last  of  May  and 
beginning  of  June.  Note  the  following  from  “Special  Libraries” 
for  June: 

One  (in  writing  of  “The  Public  Affairs  Information  Ser- 
vice”) says:  “No  single  library  is  adequately  equipped  to 
cover  more  than  a small  part  of  the  sources  of  information  con- 
cerning the  multitude  of  questions  with  which  it  deals.  . . . 

The  information  needed  lies  in  thousands  of  scattered  unin- 
dexed sources.  It  must  be  found,  compiled,  digested  and  put 
in  form  to  serve  its  purpose.  No  sooner  is  it  prepared  than  the 
march  of  progress  renders  it  inadequate.  It  is  beyond  the  power 
of  a single  library  to  keep  up  to  date  without  the  co-operation 
of  others  working  along  similar  lines.  The  mere  following  of 
printed  materials  which  each  library  ought  to  follow  is  beyond 
the  power  of  most  libraries.  Hence  the  need  of  co-operation, 
in  order  that  the  work  of  each  may  be  available  to  all  and  that 
all  working  together  may  advance  the  boundaries  of  organized 
information  and  knowledge.  If  one  library  is  working  on  the 
regulation  of  dance  halls,  another  on  blue  sky  laws,  another  on 
the  smoke  nuisance,  it  is  the  part  of  wisdom  of  other  libraries 
to  avail  themselves  of  the  work  already  done  by  them.  There 
is  enough  work  for  each  without  having  several  libraries  do  the 
same  work  indifferently  well  or  without  co-operation.” 

Another  (writing  of  “The  Special  Library  and  Public 
Efficiency”)  says:  “The  library  of  yesterday  . . . took  as  its 
province  all  knowledge,  provided  that  knowledge  was  embalmed 
in  old  and  bound  books.  The  physical  book  was  a precious 
thing;  it  was  carefully  stored  away,  to  be  taken  from  its  place 
only  by  the  librarian  himself — rare  old  soul.  . . . The  library 
was  an  instrument  of  the  aristocracy  of  learning.  It  was,  as 
has  well  been  said,  for  the  learned  rather  than  for  the  learner. 
It  contained  accidentally,  if  at  all,  a record  of  man’s  contem- 
porary life,  his  achievements,  his  experiments,  his  aspirations. 
Browning  recognizes  this  when  he  says: 

‘Men  have  lived  among  their  books  to  die 

Case-hardened  in  their  ignorance.’ 

...  It  is  not  books  or  printed  matter  that  the  special  librarian 
wants.  It  is  information,  and  the  information  is  secondary, 
or  better,  instrumental.  The  primary  thing  is  the  satisfaction 


PUBLIC  SERVICE  JOURNAL 


51 


of  the  need  or  the  curiosity  of  its  constituency.  . . John  Cotton 
Dana  has  said  recently:  ‘You  don’t  know  all  that  is  to  be 
known  about  your  business.  The  combined  knowledge  of  all 
the  other  men  in  the  world  who  are  in  the  same  business,  or 
something  like  it,  is  much  greater  than  your  knowledge,  unless 
you  know  it  all;  and  the  only  man  who  knew  it  all  failed  last 
year  and  is  now  digging  post  holes.  This  large  sum  of  knowl- 
edge, in  the  possession  of  other  men  who  are  in  the  same  busi- 
ness as  yours,  is  somewhere  all  in  print,  or  will  be  very  soon. 
You  could  use  it  to  advantage  if  you  had  it,  and  you  can  get  it.’ 
. . . The  aim  of  the  Socialists  should  be  followed  by  other 
organizations,  especially  modern  society:  to  put  every  member 
. . . and  whatever  contribution  he  has  to  offer  into  the 
service  of  all  the  rest ; and  to  put  all  the  knowledge  and  power 
of  the  whole  party  at  the  service  of  the  one  who  needs  it  when 
the  hour  of  need  arrives.” 

A third  (writing  of  ‘‘Intercommunication:  National  and 
International”)  says:  “The  next  step,  obviously,  is  to  bring 
about  the  organization  of  an  international  federation  for  inter- 
communication. . . The  usefulness  of  such  an  organization 
with  proper  facilities  throughout  the  world  is  too  easily  per- 
ceived to  require  much  comment.  It  would  afford  excellent 
opportunities  to  students,  investigators,  librarians,  collectors, 
and  others  to  secure  directly  the  information  or  objects  desired. 
The  correspondence  club  idea  is  not  new.  Many  such  organiza- 
tions exist  in  Europe  and  elsewhere.  . . Some  of  these  existing 
agencies  could  be  utilized  by  an  international  federation  for 
intercommunication,  and  thus  achieve  economy  while  by  co- 
operation securing  a larger  circle  of  federated  members.  . . By 
far  the  most  important  feature  of  the  proposed  federation  would 
be  the  putting  into  direct  touch  with  each  other  of  investigators 
and  students  mutually  interested  in  a given  subject,  whether 
it  be  scientific,  artistic,  technical,  historical,  geographical,  bio- 
graphical, genealogical,  bibliographical,  or  commercial  and  in- 
dustrial.” 

A fourth,  writing  of  the  “Index  Office”  (Chicago),  says  it 
will  “act  as  a central  agency  for  co-operative  and  other  biblio- 
graphical undertakings  and  organize  the  bibliographical  and 
indexing  work  that  is  being  done  by  isolated  institutions  and 
individuals  without  connection  with  each  other  and  without 
knowledge  of  each  other’s  plans.  In  order  to  pave  the  way  for 
this  work,  the  office  announces  its  readiness  to  collect  information 


52 


STONE  & WEBSTER 


about  work  that  is  being  planned  so  as  to  avoid  duplication. 
As  a counterpart  of  this,  the  office  will  also  collect  information 
about  work  that  is  needed,  but  has  not  yet  been  undertaken.” 

So  much  for  the  testimony  of  what  was  printed  for  the 
Washington  convention.  There  was  more,  of  the  same  trend, 
at  the  sessions  I attended  and  at  others  that  I did  not  attend. 
The  interchange  of  ideas  with  various  representatives  of  the 
National  Government  was  particularly  encouraging;  and  it  all 
makes  one  feel  the  timeliness  of  talking  about  the  organization 
of  sponsors  for  knowledge.  Still  more  recent  than  the  con- 
vention comes  the  Library  Journal  for  June,  and  says  in  one 
of  its  editorials:  “Despite  all  endeavors  in  co-operation  and 
co-ordination,  there  is  still  immense  duplication  of  work  in  the 
library  field.  A librarian,  particularly  in  a leading  library, 
finds  himself  beset  with  questionnaires  oftentimes  to  the  same 
purport  as  one  he  has  answered  the  week  before,  and  the  result 
is  either  a seemingly  discourteous  attitude  toward  questioner 
No.  2 or  a wasteful  duplication  of  work  in  preparing  the  same 
statistics  or  the  same  answers  over  again,  with  the  slightest 
shade  of  difference.  . . Most  of  all,  as  we  have  often  pointed 
out,  there  is  a very  great  waste  in  the  preparation  of  biblio- 
graphies and  reading  lists,  especially  on  topics  of  the  time, 
which  a library  does  for  itself  when  it  might  make  use  of  a very 
similar  list  already  compiled  or  in  preparation  by  others.  A 
special  function  of  an  organ  of  the  profession,  like  the  Library 
Journal,  should  be  to  prevent  this  duplication  and  waste  . . . 
We  are  always  disposed  to  give  space  to  the  results  of  investiga- 
tions which  may  be  of  interest  to  other  possible  investigators, 
in  the  hope  of  preventing  such  waste,  and  our  columns  are  freely 
open  to  our  readers  to  this  end.” 

What  do  you  propose  to  do  about  it?  may  properly  be 
asked.  One  enthusiast  said  to  me  the  other  day  that  it  is  time 
to  propose  Washington  as  the  city  that  should  be  looked  to  as 
the  headquarters  of  library  work  in  this  country.  I agreed 
with  him  readily  and  told  of  his  sentiment  to  others,  most  of 
whom  likewise  agreed.  He  further  suggested  a certain  successful 
publishing  house  as  the  one  to  afford  the  official  channel  for  our 
all-round  bibliographical  and  research  work.  I agreed  with 
him  again,  and  told  this  also  to  others,  who  to  my  delight 
seemed  to  be  of  the  same  mind.  It  seems  then  as  though  the 
next  essential  were  for  some  one  in  authority  to  effect  a meeting 
of  these  many  individuals  who  are  thinking  alike,  but  separately, 


PUBLIC  SERVICE  JOURNAL 


53 


a meeting  simply  for  this  co-ordinating  purpose;  and  the  plan 
for  which  we  are  in  such  numbers  mentally  and  spiritually  pre- 
pared will,  I believe,  go  through  of  its  own  momentum. 

Who  will  call  the  meeting?  There  are  plenty  entitled  by 
their  position  to  do  so.  The  President  of  the  American  Library 
Association,  the  President  of  the  Special  Libraries  Association, 
the  Librarian  of  Congress,  the  President  of  the  Chamber  of 
Commerce  of  the  United  States,  the  Commissioner  of  Educa- 
tion, the  president  of  any  one  of  the  large  engineering  societies, 
or  any  state  librarian,  or  any  head  of  a legislative  reference 
bureau,  or  any  of  a dozen  others  that  might  easily  and  properly 
be  named — let  him  give  an  invitation  to  this  end,  and  I believe 
he  will  have  many  guests  to  entertain,  and  eager  ones,  too. 

A few  years  ago  a gas  company  that  had  been  operating 
an  electric  plant  wanted  to  sell  to  an  electric  company  that 
wanted  to  buy ; but  neither  could  bring  itself  to  make  an  offer. 
The  day  arrived,  however,  when  a dissatisfied  patron,  who  had 
on  his  own  account  studied  the  possibilities  of  economy  should 
the  sale  be  effected,  invited  the  heads  of  the  two  companies 
(and  as  a surprise  to  both)  to  meet  at  his  office ; and  when  they 
met,  he  said:  “Now,  gentlemen,  go  ahead  and  do  what  you 
have  long  been  wanting  to  do.”  And  they  did  it.  Likewise, 
the  fraternity  of  library  and  reference  workers  of  every  des- 
cription awaits  some  one  to  call  a meeting,  and  the  undertaking 
will  forthwith  be  launched. 

By  way  of  recapitulation : 

People  ask  multifarious  questions,  for  which  they  get 
irresponsible  answers. 

Signs  of  the  times  indicate  a widespread  restlessness 
to  systematize  answering  questions  through  reliable  sources. 

A desire  for  organized  method  has  recently  been  ex- 
pressed by  several  librarians  at  their  annual  meeting. 

Librarians,  as  natural  reference  workers,  are  particu- 
larly fitted  to  initiate  such  a method. 

May  we  not  easily  picture  the  Library  of  Congress  as  the 
great  central  library  of  the  American  people?  and,  with  proper 
respect,  the  British  Museum  as  the  great  central  library  of 
civilization?  If  today,  however,  neither  Parliament  nor  Con- 
gress could  endorse  as  practicable  the  idea  of  a thousand 
branches  to  these  great  libraries,  let  us  have  our  parallel  enter- 
prise, and  with  such  co-operation  that  no  one  will  bother  much 
whether  the  system  is  of  the  Government  or  not. 


PINKHAM  PRESS,  BOSTON,  MASS. 


